I was looking for a hotel in or near Pau for a few nights for a weekend break with my family, and was initially put off this place because of some negative reviews here. Having stayed at other Novotels, however, I fugured it was likely to be half-decent at worst, and if the renovations that others had complained about were now done, I'd give it a shot. I phoned and was told that all the work on the hotel had finished, so I booked straight away, at what seemed a great rate, too: 140 Euros for the four of us, for two nights, breakfast included. Brilliant.
The hotel is easy to find, but be under no illusions: this is not central Pau, it is a large retail area a few km to the west of town. This didn't bother us, though, as it meant we had lots of things to do (shopping, bowling, eating) all on our doorestep. The hotel reception is very smart, bordering on the chic, and just off it is a very airy and bright restaurant. There's a decent bar in reception too, as well as a small kids' play area, a TV and a mini library. The room was good: quite large, clean, quiet and nicely furnished with a good-sized flat screen TV: exactly what you'd expect, really. Outside, some clever hedging and pleasantly mature trees screened off 'the outside world' (huge shops, traffic etc), and the gardens were fun to play in, with a boules court, table tennis and a couple of other playthings for kids. The pool was also nice; nothing amazing, but clean enough and in good condition with some trendy new loungers around it.
We all enjoyed this hotel a lot, and the only thing stopping me giving a five star review is the fact that service in the evening was slow, as it turned out that the two guys serving the restaurant were also working the bar - which was a bit of a drag when we just wanted a quick drink. Other than that, a pretty faultless weekend. Good parking, very nice buffet breakfast, friendly staff.
Recommended!
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